Austin
by Konsui's Little Brother
Summary: One year ago, Gilbert left Mathew. He left Canada in favor of going back to the land that used to be known as Prussia. After all this time, he calls Mathew's old number hoping for a favor. And he gets so much more than he ever thought he would.


A/N: Have I ever mentioned the fact that I ship Canada with nearly everyone? Well, I do. And this is my first official PruCan story! I was listening to this song, Austin by Blake Shelton, and the idea popped into my mind! Hope it makes as much sense to all of you as it did to me!

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><p><em><strong>She left without leavin' a number<br>Said she needed to clear her mind  
>He figured she'd gone back to Austin<br>'Cause she talked about it all the time**_

Mathew waited three days before he let himself get worried. Gilbert was prone to dissapearing over night and very seldom left a note saying where he went. But he was never gone for more than a night. In the three years that the two had been together, there had never once been a time when he just vanished like that. But he figured he was just over-reacting. The former nation was probably out with Antonio and Francis; which was where he typically vanished to.

So he didn't say anything and kept working at Parliament like he was expected to. Like the good little nation he was.

As the days passed though, with no sign of his boyfriend anywhere, Mathew stopped pretending that everything was still okay. The last thing Gilbert had said to him when he left was that he needed to clear his mind. Mathew hadn't gotten an answer when he asked what was wrong, but then, he seldom did when the Prussian was concerned. Gilbert kept things to himself. Always had, always would.

And, for the most part, Mathew had excepted it.

That time...He should have seen through it.

When three weeks passed and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Albino, there was nothing else Mathew could do but accept it. When Gilbert said he needed to 'clear his mind', it meant that he was leaving. And probably wasn't coming back.

No doubt the older nation had left for Eastern Germany.

Gilbert always talked about going back there one day. There were trails he'd never finished walking and new towns that he'd never been too; his land was changing and moving on without him now that Ludwig was in charge of it all. Wistful sighs always came with the longing words, the wishes to go back to the land he used to embody. To see all there was to see.

Mathew had always hoped the two would be able to go together.

_**It was almost a year before she called him up  
>Three rings and an answering machine is what she got<strong>_

Even after all the time Gilbert had spent away, the number was still fresh in his mind. It had never gotten fuzzy or been forgotten, even if it was never called. Which was stupid, and Gilbert knew that, because seeing Mathew again was something he'd wanted for a while.

But he'd gotten caught up in the glory of being on ground that once was his again. In seeing the sights, and living in lights, and drinking until he didn't know which way was up. And Mathew, always buzzing about in his thoughts, was just pushed to the side.

The Canadian wouldn't want to see him like that anyway. Which, ironically enough, just pushed Gilbert to drink even more.

Originally, he hadn't planned on staying in Germany for so long. Just a quick trip, a chat with his little brother, and maybe a beer before he went back. But things happened and that didn't and, the next thing Gilbert knew, a year had passed since he'd seen Mathew.

Since he'd even spoken to Mathew.

Since he'd walked out and didn't look back.

Gilbert would like to say he didn't know why he was calling his Canadian friend now but that would be a lie. Ludwig had chucked him from the house, saying it was 'for his own good', and without a job or status as a nation he didn't have money for a hotel. And getting a job was out of the question.

So he'd grabbed the cell out of his pocket, plopped himself down on a park bench, and dialed the number he couldn't believe he still remembered.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.

_**If you're callin' 'bout the car I sold it  
>If this is Tuesday night I'm bowling<br>If you've got somethin' to sell, you're wastin' your time, I'm not buyin'  
>If it's anybody else, wait for the tone,<br>You know what to do  
>And P.S. if this is Austin, I still love you<br>**_

_'Hey, this is Mathew Williams! If you're calling about the car, I sold it. If this is Tuesday night, I'm with my brother. If you've got something to sell, don't bother, I'm not buying. If it's anybody else, wait for the tone and leave a message! And P.S. if this is Prussia, I still love you.'_

_**The telephone fell to the counter  
>She heard but she couldn't believe<br>What kind of man would hang on that long  
>What kind of love that must be<strong>_

Gilbert would deny, later, that it phased him as much as it did. He would say it was a surprise, yeah, but being his awesome self he'd taken it all in stride. That, of course, would be a complete lie.

What really happened was that the phone slipped from his hand, landing hard on the ground by his feet and turning itself off. And, for the longest time, Gilbert just sat there. He didn't move, didn't speak. Just sat and gaped at nothing in particular; mouth slightly open and red eyes wide.

He'd called Mathew but he hadn't expected the Canadian to want to speak with him after so long, let alone let him stay in Canada with him. It was just that Gilbert would, honestly, rather stay with Mathew than with Antonio or Francis. He'd rather live under a rock than with Francis, though that wasn't really the point.

To call the other nation up and hear that...It left Gilbert at a loss.

No one had ever given the ex-nation attention like that. When he was still in power as a nation, he was hated for the way he behaved and the battles he started. Hated for being powerful. After he lost his status as a nation, the others started to hate him for sticking around; they thought he was in the way and that their wasn't an actual purpose for him to stay in being.

Mathew and never treated him that way. Had never acted like he was in the way or useless or even annoying. Gilbert didn't think anyone, Ludwig included, had ever treated him quite the way that the embodiment of Canada did.

When he left that day, one year ago, Gilbert hadn't been thinking about Mathew. He'd been thinking about himself, which he so often did. It wasn't until almost two months had passed that the former nation of Prussia realized he'd never told Mathew where he was going.

He figured that the younger nation wouldn't want to see him again. Not after leaving like that.

Hearing that message...What kind of a man would hang on that long? What sort of a person would still love him? After everything that Gilbert had done to him?

Later on, Gilbert would claim it never happened. But at the moment, the tugging in his chest and the prickle of tears welling up at the corner of his eyes...It was real.

Rubbing his face with the back of his hand, Gilbert grabbed his phone off the ground. He didn't even check to see if it was still working before he shoved it in his pocket and near jumped off the bench.

The rest of the day was spent sitting in a bar, drinking until he was kicked to the curb at closing time.

_**She waited three days, and then she tried again  
>She didn't know what she'd say,<br>But she heard three rings and then**_

Over the next few days, Gilbert drifted from bar to bar and town to town. No real goal in mind and nothing really planned. The phone call to Mathew three days prior had just completely thrown him for a loop; even finding a new country to stay in didn't seem very important at the moment.

Finally, he decided that it must have been a fluke. Mathew had never been good at remembering to check his messages, due to not recieving them very often, so that message had probably been up for a long time.

It couldn't still be true.

It was with that thought in mind that Gilbert pulled his cellphone back out and dialed the number again. He didn't know what he'd say, especially not if Mathew actually picked up, but he had to make himself believe that the message wasn't true.

It couldn't be true.

That was part of the reason that Gilbert left in the first place. To clear his head and visit his old territory was only part of it. Really, he was just tired of the other nations looking at him the way they did. Gilbert didn't want them to know that it actually bothered him.

Again, the phone rang once. It rang twice. By the third time, his stomache was in knots. And when that voice drifted through the speaker again...He didn't know what to think.

_**If it's Friday night I'm at the ballgame  
>And first thing Saturday, if it don't rain<br>I'm headed out to the lake  
>And I'll be gone, all weekend long<br>But I'll call you back when I get home  
>On Sunday afternoon<br>And P.S. If this is Austin, I still love you**_

_'Hey, this is Mathew Williams talking. If it's Friday night, I'm at the G8 meeting. First thing Saturday, if it doesn't rain, I'll be out camping with Alfred. We'll be gone all weekend long. I'll call you back when I get home, Sunday Afternoon. And P.S. if this is Prussia, I still love you.'_

_**Well, this time she left her number  
>But not another word<br>Then she waited by the phone on Sunday evenin'  
>And this is what he heard<strong>_

Gilbert wasn't thinking when he left the number for his cellphone. But that was it. Nothing else, not even a name. Just the number and then he snapped it shut and slammed it down on the maple wood bar in front of him. No one even bothered to look in his direction, used to violent outbursts from the patrons there.

It still didn't make sense. The message was obviously new. But...Why would Mathew still put that at the end of it? It couldn't really be true. Could it? Mathew had always been different from the other nations but, to still love him after all that time, that was just something else.

So he kept his phone on him and fully charged for the rest of the weekend.

Late Sunday evening, while Gilbert was wondering aimlessely through a small town barely big enough to be on the maps, the sound of the Prussian Anthem filled the air. Heart shooting into his throat, the albino pulled the device out of his pants pocket. The screen flashed with the same numbers that Gilbert had commited to memory so long ago.

Flipping it open, Gilbert pressed it to his ear.

_**If you're callin' 'bout my heart  
>It's still yours<br>I should've listened to it a little more  
>Then it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where I belong<br>And by the way, boy, this is no machine you're talkin' to  
>Can't you tell, this is Austin, and I still love you<strong>_

"If you're calling about my heart, it's still yours. I guess I should've listened to it sooner. If I had it wouldn't have taken me so long to know where I belong. Oh, and by the way, Birdie, this isn't a machine. If you couldn't already tell, this is Prussia. And I still love you."


End file.
